Monday, 10 February 2014

The run up
weeks were scary. I was going to be on stage on my own for an hour: the plan
was to speak for 45 mins and take questions for the next 15. Then, if all went
well – to sell and sign a few books.

During
preparation, it was tricky trying to come out of my author head and what I
thought I wanted to say and instead
step into the mind of the audience and consider what do they want to know.

So I framed
the talk around these imaginary questions:

1.Who are you?

2.What have you written and why?

3.How did you get published?

4.What’s this book about?

5.How is it selling/how are you
marketing it?

I decided to
swap the order of 3 and 4 because an author on Twitter had said, when you talk
about your book, talk about your characters. I realised that I had to bring
them to life for the audience to make them care about the book and therefore to
have an investment in its publication and success.

What
mattered most to me is that anyone can tell the factual story of how they got
published. But that in itself is not necessarily interesting (unless they found
a unique path). So I wanted a better angle and decided that the primary need of
the audience was to feel encouraged, inspired and to grasp the possibility that
‘if she can, maybe I can…’

Because that’s
how it happened for me. I hadn’t long been living in Brighton when I saw that
the Comedian/travel writer, Pete McCarthy was doing a talk and readings from
his new book McCarthy’s Bar. I went along and thoroughly enjoyed the evening,
bubbling with a delicious envy. I told him so as he signed a copy for me at the
end. I told him I was writing and I wanted to do what he did. He signed my copy
‘One day this will be you.’

Two years
later he was touring again with the next book The Road to McCarthy. I wasn’t
able to see him, but my friends did, and bought me a book asking him to sign it
for Sinéad. He asked, ‘that’s not Sinéad that’s writing the book, who I spoke
to last time?’ They were impressed that he remembered me, saying yes, and she’s
still writing. So he signed my copy, ‘just keep on trying.’

How I wish
he was here to thank. I’ve thought of him a lot since getting …but I love you published, and realised
when I was preparing my talk that I was writing it when I met him that first
time.

So I took
the stage, with nowhere to hide, my script in case I panicked and got lost, and
my book, armed with his encouragement, and determined to stay in the moment and
actually enjoy it.

And I did.

Every single
minute.

I’ve had my
moments in front of audiences (court, teaching, acting, singing). But usually
someone else has provided the words or a role to hide behind. It’s very
exposing to take on an audience as yourself. And guess what? The only way to do
it is to be yourself! What I discovered was how freeing and self-affirming that
actually is.

And frankly,
if you put your book out there for public scrutiny and enjoyment then you might
as well stand beside it.